Tag: Isotopes
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Where Earth’s Water Really Came From: Could the Moon Hold the Clue?
Introduction: A Water Mystery Across the Solar System For decades, scientists have wrestled with a fundamental question: how did Earth obtain its vast oceans? The prevailing view pointed to water-rich asteroids and comets delivering their cargo during the early Solar System, especially amid the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) when a torrent of impacts scarred the…
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Where Earth’s Water Really Came From: The Moon Holds the Clues
Introduction: A fresh look at an old question For decades, scientists assumed Earth’s oceans were delivered early in the Solar System by icy asteroids and comets. This classic view aligned with the Late Heavy Bombardment, a bombardment period roughly 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago when countless celestial bodies battered the young planets. Yet new…
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Where Earth’s Water Really Came From: The Moon May Hold the Clue
Introduction: A Moonlit Question For decades, scientists debated where Earth’s oceans originated. The prevailing view was that water arrived with icy asteroids and comets during the early Solar System, delivered during a tumultuous epoch known as the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) roughly 4.1 to 3.8 billion years ago. But new findings from lunar samples and…
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Moon Feeds on Earth: How Solar Wind Drags Atmospheric Particles to Our Lunar Neighbor
Groundbreaking Finding: The Moon’s Hidden Diet For decades, scientists wondered how the Moon’s surface retains elements and isotopes that seem curiously connected to Earth. A recent study published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment reveals a surprising mechanism: solar wind has carried particles from Earth’s atmosphere to the Moon for billions of years, embedding them…
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Were Theia and Earth Neighbors Before the Moon? Rewriting Our Origins
Introduction: A New Twist on an Ancient Tale For decades, the giant-impact hypothesis has explained how the Moon formed: a colossal collision between young Earth and a Mars-sized body named Theia, followed by a chaotic merger that left Earth with a shiny lunar companion. But recent studies are nudging scientists to rethink a crucial piece…
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Could a Crumbling Supercontinent Have Jumpstarted Life on Earth?
New Clues That Earth’s Crumbling Supercontinent Could Have Sparked Life When scientists talk about Earth’s distant past, they often reference dramatic shifts in geography and climate. A growing body of research now suggests that the slow breakup of a supercontinent might have been more than a geological curiosity—it could have helped ignite life as we…
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Lipid Biosignatures in MgSO4-Rich Hypersaline Lakes: Implications for Martian Analogues
Introduction Hypersaline lakes and coastal brines are today’s best terrestrial analogues for Martian bodies of water. In particular, columns of magnesium sulfate (Mg-SO4) brines and sulfate-rich salt deposits present chemical settings that resemble deposits inferred on Mars. This study evaluates how lipid biosignatures—such as fatty acids, alkanes, and ether-bound lipids—are produced and preserved in modern…
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Sea Sponges: Earth’s First Animals—Ancient Origins
Sea Sponges: Earth’s First Animals — New clues from ancient rocks In a study highlighted by scientists today, MIT geochemists report new evidence from some of the planet’s oldest rocks that suggests the ancestors of modern sea sponges could be among the first animals to emerge on Earth. The findings, published in the Proceedings of…